Teeelveee
A stone-aged race of multi-armed, aboreal pranksters, the Teeelveee were one of the least studied races of the Delta Sector during the explorations of Interstel. While they were quite well-liked by Interstel crews, and sold valuable trade goods, their planet rested at the very edge of the Uhl’s zone of influence, thus making any extended stay hazardous to Humans, of which most Interstel crews carried at least one. With the Uhl gone, the Sector’s trade economy heating up, and many species just finding themselves in need of a good laugh, the Teeelveee suddenly find themselves in high demand, with aliens of every description visiting their planet. The Teeelveee view this turn of events with glee, partly because it’s good for their planet’s economy, and partly because the threat of Umanu-driven annihilation no longer hangs over them, but mainly because the influx of visitors bring with them myriad opportunities to play new jokes on the unsuspecting. Basic Characteristics *''Type'': Arboreal *''Durability'': 6 *''Learning Rate'': 8 *''Science: Poor *Navigation: Average *Tactical: Average *Engineering: Poor *Communication: Average *Medicine: Poor *''Genders: 2 *''Life Stages'': Adolescent at 3 years. Adult at 6 years. Middle age at 14 years. Old Age at 25 years. Venerable Age at 32 years. *''Lifespan'': 34 + 3d5 years. *''Height'': 0.47 meters; 0.38 + (2d5 * 0.03) meters. *''Mass'': 22 kilograms; 16.5 + ((2d5 from height) * 1.1) kilograms. *''Niche/Symmetry'': Omnivorous Bilateral Consumer *''Speed/Transit'': Multiped, 5 m/rd (3 kph) *''Volume'': 0.02 m^3 *''HD'': 51/45/56 *''HP'': 60 *''Unarmed Damage'': 15 NHP *''STV'': 26 MU (1,300 MU/m^3) Physical Description The Teeelveee are a small race of bilateral six-limbed arboreal creatures. They have a central head-like structure with no seperate body. They have two yellow, forward-looking eyes, a nose, and mouth in a formation that looks disturbingly humanoid, given that nothing else about them looks even remotely Human. Branching out from the top of their heads are six long, thin arms, with one set of arms forward, one middle, and one posterior. Each arm terminates in a three fingered hand with an opposable thumb; these can be used for grasping and fine manipulation. As one would expect from an arboreal race, these arms are primarily used for grabbing branches and vines within the creatures’ home tree, but should they find themselves on the ground, are quite capable of use in walking. Despite their seeming fraility, the Teeelveee arm is very strong, as is necessitated by their planet’s high gravity (2.1 G’s). The Teeelveee are a very hairy race, and are completely covered by course, brown fur. Males of the species may also have significant beards, and beard styling is yet another example of an area of life subject to intense games (and jokes- woe betide the bearded Teeelveee who falls into a deep, unprotected slumber near a prospective rival). Surmounting the arms are two antenna-like appendages, which are very flexible and make up the Teeelveee’s primary means of picking up odors, as their ‘nose’ is used strictly for breathing and contains no sensory apparatus. These antenna are also important to Teeelveee interaction, making a significant contribution to their non-verbal communication. The Teeelveee are omnivorous, readily eating fruit and other tree-dwelling creatures, including mammals, insects, and birds. They are mammals, and very active ones at that, often performing aerial acrobatics easily rivaling that of Old Earth monkeys. As one might expect from small, hyperactive mammals from a densely populated homeworld, the Teeelveee are quite promiscuous, and the females give birth to multiple live young after a short, three month gestation period. Space Units Not Applicable: Species is Non-Starfaring. Ground Units This gives a general listing of the vehicles available to the given race. Engaging the ground units of a species in combat will have the same general effect on the player's relations with the species as engaging their units in space. The mineral composition of ground units will be the same as that listed for space units, though the amounts will be somewhat lessened. Indication of "turrets" for a ground unit allow the unit to fire a weapon in any direction; otherwise, the unit must face their target before they may attack another unit. Ground units always include a very generic description of how the unit will appear. Ground Units in general use the same ratings as space units, but have a few additional properties as outlined below: * Still need a response on energy. **''Melee'': An attack that can only be delivered when that object's collision area is touching the collision area of its target. **''Flat'': The speed/efficiency the unit travels on flat land. **''Mount'': The speed/efficiency the unit travels on steep mountains. This will likely be determined by rapid changes in planetary elevation, though the exact amount of elevation change necessary has not yet been determined. **''Liquid'' The speed/efficiency the unit travels on a liquid surface (possibly also including ice and cooling lava.) No Data Available at this time. Territory The Teeelveee are a non-starfaring race. They can only be found on their home planet, located at δ125x91, p1; the Teeelveee insist the name of their world is "Bob", but it is not known if this is an attempt at a prank or not. Their system is almost within the confines of the Cloud Nebula; while the Uhl was still present in the Delta Sector, the Teeelveee world fell within the Uhl's region of influence. Fortunately for the Teeelveee, their society was too primitive to warrant too much of the Uhl's attention, though because their world was within the Uhl's region of influence it was somewhat hazardous for Interstel ships with Human crewmembers to remain in the area for extended periods of time. The Teeelveee are a fairly primitive Stone-Age species, having achieved only a few pieces of technology necessary for a thriving civilization. This lack of progress no doubt has to do with the aforementioned disposition of the species towards jokes and games. Most of the technologies they have developed (the wheel, pottery, masonry, etc.) have at least one gaming application. On a similar vein, manufacture of any of their goods and services has to be couched in the guise of "playing a game", lest they go without those goods. The Teeelveee home planet is very densely populated; most of their population is spread over the main equatorial continent, with smaller pockets of population inhabiting the smaller, more mountainous southern continent. *'Patrol': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': None **''Beta Sector'': None *'Space': **''Alpha Sector'': No Sphere of Influence **''Delta Sector'': No Sphere of Influence **''Beta Sector'': No Sphere of Influence *'Star': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': None **''Beta Sector'': None *'Worlds': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': Bob (125x91, p1) **''Beta Sector'': None Status The Teeelveee are one of the most-liked races of the Delta Sector- quite an accomplishment, given that they’re largely confined to their homeworld. Visitors representing several different alien species have opted to spend leisure time on their planet; though it is usually other business that brings them to the planet in the first place, there are those few who come to the Teeelveee soley to enjoy themselves. This is due to the fact that, when in the company of the Teeelveee, it is nearly impossible to remain completely unamused, and many individuals seek them out soley for their heightened sense of humor. While many may come strictly to observe their humorous ways, most eventually find themselves drawn into the native games and jokes of their hosts, willingly or unwillingly. While there are those who find the Teeelveee obsession with jokes grating (having likely been the target of some particularly unpleasant prank), species for the most part understand that their antics are all in good fun. Vacations aside, however, the Teeelveee planet is also a crucial nexus for the Sector’s trade routes, and they produce what is arguably the single most valuable trade good in the region. Their world positively teems with life (over 90% bio rating on the orbital scans), so it should come as no surprise that two of the native insect races serve as the main goods sold by the Teeelveee. The first of these, Singing Beetles, are highly sought after by the Tarn. The second are Tongi Worms, which are collected and then agitated by the Teeelveee. When agitated, the worms secrete a substance designed to ward off predators, which is also collected and sold as Livelong. Livelong is fanatically desired by the Humna Humna (who have been known to lower the prices of goods for purchase after receiving even a small amount of Livelong). Through their humor and their sale of the above items, the Teeelveee have won themselves good reputations in the minds of all those who have come into contact with them. The Humna Humna obviously hold them in high esteem due to their production of Livelong, and the Tandelou appreciate their avid consumption of their own Happy Juice. Indeed, it is notable that, despite their disinterest in the Thdok-Bryg-Ahhh, the Tandelou have no ill words for them, merely describing them as ‘playful’. Most other races are diplomatically neutral towards them, though since their homeworld falls in the demense of the Empire, the Imperial Navy has unoffically taken on an unoffical role in protecting them from the G’nunk, lest the G’nunk suddenly decide the playful tree creatures need a surprise lesson from She/It Who Hunts. *'Ally': **''Initial'': None **''Final'': None *'Enemy': **''Initial'': None **''Final'': None Economy *'Economic Status Levels': **''Bob'': Level *'Specialty Trade Goods Purchased': **Shimmer Cloth (Bob; δ125x91, p1) **Tandelouvian Happy Juice (Bob*; δ125x91, p1) *'Specialty Trade Goods Sold': **Livelong (Bob; δ125x91, p1) **Singing Beetles (Bob; δ125x91, p1) Supplemental Information If the Teeelveee personality had to be summed up in a single word, “mischievous” would do quite nicely. Alternatively, “impish” and “playful” could be used equally well. Like any society, they have organization, hierarchy, and social rules, but everything comes in second to their exaggerated sense of humor, a fact some xenologists point to as an explanation for their primitive technological level. Others disagree, saying it is incorrect to state that their culture is totally enslaved to their prankish personality: They do understand that there are certain less-than-pleasant tasks that must be performed to keep society functioning. Where this race’s personality shines through is in the execution of those tasks. For instance, in the unpleasant case that an individual’s crime requires him to be ostracized from his community, his neighbors make a game of it; namely, determining how many pieces of rotten fruit he can be pelted with before being driven away. Also, due to the dense population of their homeworld, overcrowding can be a serious issue. To mitigate this, all across their heavily-forested homeworld, the arboreal race holds an annual “Festival of Falling Love” (the best translation available) in which members of their species above a certain age engage in a days-long ‘dance’ along the peripheral branches of the highest tree in each region. During this time, they imbibe, procreate, and not a few of them fall to their deaths from exhaustion and inebriation. Such it is with many other aspects of their society as well. It is worth noting that, contrary to expectation, the Teeelveee are not avid traders, and will not budge once they set their prices. This is likely because their “money games” change based on the condition of their current economy. With their current, level economy, prices are viewed as precisely where the market dictates, and therefore there is no need to change them; this leads to the ‘game’ being how many times a visitor will attempt to barter before getting frustrated and just accepting their price. In different economic times, bartering does indeed come back into the picture, in which case, “How high can I sell?” or “How low can I buy?” become the rules of the game. The Teeelveee, as might have been mentioned above once or twice, are primarily interested in jokes and games- all other aspects of life are secondary. Thus far, they have been mostly content to remain on their homeworld, pursuing their entertainment there as they have for generations, but some few slightly more serious-minded individuals have traveled off-world aboard visiting starships. These folks have no overriding interest in being ambassadors or going on adventures, but rather have chosen to venture into the vastness of space to see how other races amuse themselves. Once they’ve visited all the comedy clubs, watched all the sitcoms, and viewed all the sporting events their hosts have to offer, they either move on or return home, perhaps with a few additional tricks up their sleeves, a new wrinkle on an old joke, or an idea for a new game that can be adapted to their own people. Importance The Teeelveee serve no purpose within the game aside from being a trading partner; they are thus a potential revenue source for the player. Communication Text As a non-starfaring race, the Teeelveee had no comm text in SF2 (aside from their greeting message in trade), and will likewise have no comm text in SF3. All text for this species will be handled by the Trading and Commerce Module. ---- NEXT: Xxr PREVIOUS: Tarn TOP ----